From God of Lies to Lord of All Worlds

Chapter 172: Gao's Brainstorming

"According to our intelligence, out of all those present last night, with the exception of the two named Olavur and Tore, every single person failed to hold their bottom line. They all completed one or two special 'treasure transactions' without exception!"

After stepping out of the car, Austin continued briefing Gao with the information they had on hand.

"Selling? Are they in such a rush to cash out?" Gao asked, his curiosity piqued. "Every single one of them made an exchange? Does that mean our people secured something as well?"

"Yes!" Austin nodded. "Our agents managed to acquire a piece of Jewelry. According to our investigation, the others also obtained those items and are currently waiting for us to inspect them!"

"Something is wrong." Gao furrowed his brow. It was as if a familiar scene was flashing through his mind, causing the palms of his hands to grow increasingly hot.

"What is wrong?" Austin asked curiously. "Boss, do you think there is a problem here?"

"It is not just a problem, it is a massive problem!" Gao declared. Staring at the Hotel in front of them, he refrained from rushing inside. Instead, he stopped in his tracks, turned to Austin, and spoke slowly. "Let us reorganize the timeline of this story!"

"But they have all gone inside. If we do not go in, will we not..." Austin trailed off, his voice laced with anxiety. "We will fall far behind the others, and the Great Leader might hold us accountable."

Gao only grew firmer in his resolve. "Exactly. That is exactly it. We are not going in yet! We wait!"

Gao tapped his temple. Every piece of information slowly filtered into his mind, transforming into a long, continuous thread that raced through his thoughts at the speed of light."Austin, hand me your Tablet!" Gao commanded. His mind was gradually clearing, the various threads of the situation becoming crystal clear. Taking the Tablet from Austin, he began typing and mapping out his thoughts with rapid precision.

"Yesterday, they discovered ruins containing Elves, Dwarves, and dragons. All of them were dead, yet they still left behind a Boon for the living!"

"These Boons belonged to Transcendent Beings, which are what everyone now recognizes as Supernatural Artifacts!"

"Aside from the group, two other individuals took items. The Geology Professor named Tore Erik took a History Book, and the Doctor of Geology named Olavur Thorsen took his ancestor's relics, the armor and Sword of the Dragon Slayer Sigurd. Is that correct?"

Austin nodded slowly. "Yes, Boss, that is absolutely correct!"

"Then let us continue!" Gao expanded his train of thought. "The reason they were able to take these items was that before those two departed for the Underworld upon Yggdrasil, they told the group they were allowed to take them. Am I right?"

"Also correct!"

"Did the informant specify exactly what those two said? Did they tell them to take everything, or could each person pick an unlimited amount?" Gao asked the most crucial question. "Or was it like in an Epic of Heroes, where they were only allowed to take one or three?"

"He did not specify!" Austin suddenly realized the implication. "We asked that exact question. His explanation was that the other party did not explain the details carefully! Therefore, every single one of them left with quite a few items."

Gao sneered. "Did not explain carefully? Then why did the most knowledgeable professor only take a single book?"

"Did not explain carefully? Then why did Olavur, a descendant of the Dragon Slayer and the person with the most significant background, only take the things that rightfully belonged to him?"

"Was it because they looked down on the other treasures, or because they did not dare to take them? Or perhaps, there is a Taboo?"

Gao fired off three consecutive questions, causing Austin's initial excitement to cool down with incredible speed.

"Are you saying... he was lying? Or did they take more than they were supposed to?"

Rubbing his temples, Gao continued his deduction. "At the very least, he was not telling the truth!"

Austin was still trying to process it all. "He was not telling the truth, so he sold the items in his hands to us? Hiss... That does not add up, does it?"

He could not shake the feeling that something was deeply wrong here, but what exactly was it?

Gao suddenly posed a question to Austin. "If you were them, upon obtaining these Supernatural Items, would you want to hide them, or would you be impatient to sell them off?"

"I would hide them, of course. How could I casually sell such things to others? I would at least keep the best ones for myself, right?"

Austin answered offhandedly. "After all, these are supernatural..." He abruptly stopped speaking and began to gasp in shock. "Are you implying that it is not that they wanted to sell them, but rather that they could not hold onto them?"

"Go and check how many other people took these items!" Gao's mind was spinning rapidly. He even pulled out a Hard Candy, popping it into his mouth, chewing it aggressively, and swallowing it down. "I fear that our people are not the only ones who acquired these Supernatural Artifacts!"

He raised his head, staring at the Hotel before him with an inexplicable gleam in his eyes. "Or rather, investigate just how many factions entered and exited this Hotel last night!"

"Our military base is right here on this island. After receiving orders last night, they launched Drones and placed this area under Surveillance. I imagine it should not take much time to compile a summary of the events!"

Austin immediately relayed the orders down the chain of command. A few minutes later, the information arrived!

"Boss, a total of seventeen different factions entered the Hotel. Moreover, after going inside, they left in a hurry..." Austin looked at his boss in sheer amazement. How could he possibly deduce all of this? He truly lived up to his title as the Deputy Director of the American Special Affairs Bureau, a man genuinely Wielding Great Power!

Gao roughly pieced everything together. "That means there are seventeen factions that obtained Supernatural Items. Add the people currently in the Hotel, the students and teachers, which makes nine individuals. That equals twenty-six!"

"Twenty-six... Twenty-six..."

He continued to mutter the number under his breath. "No, no... It is not twenty-six. It is not twenty-six..."

Gao pressed Austin further. "Did they mention anything else? For example, the structure of the cave, or any texts, symbols, or descriptions found inside?"

"Texts, symbols, and descriptions?" Austin frowned. "That cave was concealed by the Rune Script. After they left, the Rune Script vanished! That wall and the stone cave disappeared as well. Does that count?"

"It counts! Why wouldn't it count?" Gao immediately used OpenAI to search for information on the Rune Script, wanting to see if there was anything that matched his hypothesis.

"The Elder Futhark consists of twenty-four letters, representing three Aett, namely Freya, Aett, and Haimudaer..." The AI's mechanical voice echoed in Gao's ears, causing his previously stagnant mind to explode as if struck by heavenly lightning!

"Right, it is twenty-four, not twenty-six!" he exclaimed loudly. "Tore and Olavur—one took a book, and the other took his ancestor's relics! Neither of them count as having taken the items!"

"Therefore, that is it, exactly twenty-four! There are twenty-four letters in the Rune Script. They took twenty-four items in total and distributed them among twenty-four different people!"

[Twenty-four Rune Script (Elder Futhark)]

Austin looked at his boss and felt an unfamiliar sense of awe. His boss was like a monster. How on earth did he manage to deduce so much from such a limited amount of information? Was this even logical?

"So, Boss, what should we do now?"

"What should we do?" Gao stared at the Hotel and let out a cold laugh. "The best thing we can do right now is get the hell out of here and call for backup! We need to summon the personnel from the Keflavík Base immediately. Otherwise, this place is going to turn into Hell!"

"Hell?" Austin stared at the Hotel in confusion. He could not quite understand how this situation had anything to do with Hell.

"In Norse Mythology, the complete runes originated from Odin's Hanging. He hung Himself from the tree for nine days and nine nights, completing His Self-Sacrifice!"

"In Norse Mythology, every benefit demands a Price. Thus, to bring about Ragnarök, Loki sacrificed everything he had. For the sake of wisdom, Odin offered up one of His eyes. And the gods themselves once paid a bitter Price for certain endeavors!"

"Without permission, they took exactly twenty-four items, a number of supernatural wonders perfectly corresponding to the twenty-four letters of the Rune Script!"

"So, Austin, what do you think the Price for doing so will be?"

Right at that very moment, a terrifying, explosive boom suddenly resounded from deep within the Hotel!

"BOOM!"

Like a madman, Gao jerked his head up and lunged forward, his eyes locked onto the Hotel in front of him. In his hand, he tightly gripped the Cross he had begged for from Her Highness Saintess Caroline before leaving America. Cold sweat drenched his entire body!

His mind flashed back to the scene that had unfolded before Lincoln's tomb that day. That identical sense of imminent crisis was as vivid as ever in his mind!